Local tourists who have been visiting B-BOVID farms, located at Angu, in the Shama District of Western Region, as part of the celebration of this year’s farmers’ day activities, have been commending Issa Ouedraogo, the social inclusive entrepreneur for using a new module of Agriculture to change an age-old narrative in farming practices.
They believe the government of Ghana should work closely with the entrepreneur to expand the scope of his business and ideas to benefit more Ghanaians.
Speaking in an interview with journalists on Friday, December 2, 2022, Edward Tei Sarpong, Coordinator of Good Governance Africa, an established Non-Governmental Organization operating in the Western Region that took over hundred school pupils to B-BOVID farms, expressed satisfaction about the impact of the new module of Agriculture being used by the entrepreneur to inform farmers to reform and transform their activities.
This new socially inclusive module of farming, he noted would keep the farmers active, proactive, and productive.
“What we have been doing with B-BOVID in the last seven years, is to introduce people to his new concept of farming geared towards training farmers on sustainable Agriculture”
He explained that the reason for the NGO marrying governance with tourism and farming, was to promote Agriculture, “It is an aspect of our lives that borders on our existence and sustenance”
Other visitors who watched the amazing things being done by the entrepreneur noted “This is a Ghanaian who grew up as an orphan, God being so good to him, he had been able to educate himself and ended up with good jobs outside of the country.
He also ended up with international organizations and was one of the guys who was spearheading the Poverty Strategy Peer Person and also the Millennium Development Goals. This guy, who was earning over 120,000 dollars a year, decided to use his own money 800,000 dollars plus a loan of 1.7 million dollars, by the way, he himself brought it from outside and it was supposed to have been given to him at 5%, but ADB gave it to him at side plan of 33%. Nevertheless, this guy still had hope, and wanted to prove to the world, Ghanaians, that Agriculture still remains the cornerstone of our economic development”.
Listening to the struggle of the farmer and how he managed to turn things around, Kwame Frazier, one of the visitors to the B-BOVID farms said “He set up a social enterprise and set up an ICT center for farmers which still remains the only one in the country, a mechanization center, an alternative livelihood center, and a factory to operate as a totally socially inclusive business with profit sharing and shared value as a center of that business, that worked.
Aside from that, he created a 15-acre ecological biodiversity garden which he ironically named it garden of Eden. He set up 3 big dams, to demonstrate climate smart Agricultural technology for future farming. He also created ecological and agro-forestry with vegetables and other products in it. This guy6 deserves to be celebrated, deserves to be encouraged, deserves to be supported, and should not be left to a fake, wicked who claims to socially impact investors who by the way wanted to use this man’s credit, achievements, and credentials to seek glory outside Africa. It is unfortunate, that even renowned lawyers in this country will support this fake investor who have recruited the same person’s staff to tarnish his image, creating fake names on the internet, and on social media to tarnish his image and insult him. Ghanaians must not sit down to look at this to happen”.
His garden of Eden, his ecological biodiversity garden, his climate-smart technology, or the innovation center, the agro-forestry, the tourists observed, still remains unique in this country, that students, farmers, and tourists are enjoying or benefiting from that, including universities and researchers like CSR.
The visitors appealed to the government to support his activities and take concrete steps to investigate issues troubling the operations of the entrepreneur.
“This is the person to be disgraced, to be dragged into the dirt by jealous, greedy selfish individuals as well as lawyers, staff, and individuals in this country. So it is important that the Ghana government looks into that whether it is the NIB, CHRAJ, or any relevant authority, the media. They should wake up and show interest in this company and find out exactly what is happening.
This guy is also ready to even borrow money to pay independent auditors to verify how these fake investors came along and the things they did if it is in line with international reclamations on how to acquire or be a partner of a social impact investors. This is a challenge that the Ghanaian public has to show interest in.
In terms of evidence, they said “His setups are all there for people to see and the achievements he has clocked. In the very difficult terrain in Ghana, this guy still managed to prove to the nation that it is doable, it is possible, therefore seeks national authorities support to end this issue” they concluded.
